Dispatch calling between users is becoming increasingly popular. One of the main reasons for its popularity is that the setup time for a dispatch call is relatively small as compared to, for example, the setup time for a cellular telephone call. Another distinction between a dispatch communication and a cellular telephone communication is that a dispatch communication is typically half-duplex. That is, a dispatch communications link is allocated to a single user at a time for transmitting voice and/or data.
In the past, private dispatch calling (a dispatch call between only two parties, a calling party and a target (called) party) was limited to users situated within a limited geographical area, such as, for example, Chicago. The reason is that the dispatch communications network processing dispatch calls had limited coverage within such geographical area. It follows then that if a user roamed beyond the geographical area covered by the corresponding dispatch communications network, for example, to Los Angeles, the user would not be able to make dispatch calls.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method of providing private dispatch calling between users in distinct geographical areas covered respectively by distinct intra-area dispatch communications networks.